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Bloggers I know are not fully grasping the importance of location to blogging. It is so critical to their success that I sincerely hope every blogger will read this post.
If a giant light bulb does not go on over your head read this again or talk to me about it.
Any bloggers who provide business coaching or small business marketing advice must get this concept clearly in their minds.
We have to stop recommending businesses install blogs if:
- There is not enough interesting content to attract THEIR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
- They aren’t willing to keep them updated and interact in the comments.
- No one is going to be interested in REGULARLY reading about what they do.
What Blogs Interest YOU?
Would YOU really subscribe to a blog about fixing things if what you would really do is HIRE someone to do that? NO! The only people who want to read about fixing things are do it yourself types who want tips on how to fix things.
If you never repair your own car and have no intention of starting, are you EVER going to subscribe to a blog about:
- How to change your oil? (NO!)
- Or how an engine works? (How many people drive? How many of those care how engines work?)
- The importance of checking your brake pads? (MAYBE you MIGHT be interested in that because not doing it can cost you a lot of money, but even that is doubtful – most will NOT want to read about that.)
If you want to get HIRED to install or repair anything
WHY would you create a blog
YOUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS will never read?
Every business DOES need SOMEONE blogging about them but that does NOT mean they need their own blog. They could be a regular contributor to an established group blog in their niche OR they could do guest posts on multiple related blogs OR they could identify influential bloggers in their industry and create a relationship to have one or more bloggers publishing content for them – either that they provide or that they hire the blogger(s) to create.
In order to generate leads or sales, the ideal blog must be able to reach the audience each business needs BEFORE the buyer is ready to buy - because people prefer to buy from those they already know and trust.
How do you reach their potential clients?
By providing entertaining and information information
about what they care about most: themselves.
Almost everyone is interested in what is happening where they live and work – especially if you tell interesting stories that relate to them and their lives. Most businesses operate in specific geographic areas, so your blog must reach the audience that is their target market in a way that will retain readers.
WHAT IS INTERESTING LOCALLY?
Think about what your area is known for such as San Antonio’s River Walk or Australia’s Gold Coast. What is happening around you? Are there seasonal events? Many small towns in Texas have annual events with a parade connected to something produced in their area.
Who are the interesting personalities who live there or are connected to that area? Any famous authors or historical figures? Where are your favorite places to eat or most unusual businesses you patronize? There are tons of human interest stories you can cover.
Create the most interesting blog and Twitter account
for any specific location to attract followers and subscribers!
Those followers and subscribers WILL be interested in information about local businesses, products and services if you make the way you share the information entertaining. Maybe the owner or employees are real characters, or the way the came up with the business idea is unique, or they have funny stories about what has happened over the years.
Many businesses assume since THEY know what they do so does everyone around them. They are dead wrong. Even in thriving small towns most people do NOT know every business in town. (Just because you have a sign on your business, that does NOT mean everyone in town sees it.)
Few people have any idea what else is available – even in businesses they regularly visit. They will buy what they usually buy. Unless the business is creative at sharing what else they have to offer, most of their regular customers will never know what else they could have purchased there instead of at a big box store.
Imagine how many products the average hardware store carries? Even their employees don’t know everything in the store! Even at my age, with as much as I use the Internet, and as many ecommerce stores with huge inventories as I have worked with I still see products every day I never heard of before. You could write about hard to find items or unique products too.
There is a growing interest in healthy eating with true organic and grass fed products still difficult to find in many areas. Research that for your readers and you can grow a loyal following – and share with them where they can buy what they most want. The harder it is to find the more valuable your blog will be to them.
More people are interested in the environment now too. Your local site can write about environmental challenges specific to where you are or close enough to impact your readers. Every person is more interested in what is close to home than far away. The major media often ignores the very information real people most need to see. YOU can fill that void!
Blogs are NOT search. Search converts into leads and sales well (IF you can get on the first page of Google for your preferred keyword phrases) because buyers find you at the moment they are ready to part with their hard-earned money. If they already know about what you do they won’t need to search, will they?
Create relationships with people in your local communities
and share only what you believe in – and that trust can
benefit many small businesses in your area.
You can see an excellent example of how to make a blog about a local area highly interesting by going to District365.com to read about Things to Do in Washington DC. Rohan from @365thingstododc45 was the first to comment in this post. Since I tend to get a lot of comments, I’m sharing what he wrote here:
“Wow, I think you perfectly describe what I’ve been doing in Washington DC. It started out as a hobby (well it’s still a fun hobby for me) but I have been getting a bit of interest from local companies and it has really been a life changer for me in many ways.”
See? This isn’t just some pet theory of mine. It is simply logical that if you create an interesting site that reaches a specific local audience, intelligent businesses will recognize that and want to advertise with you and/or get featured in your blog. It is a simple way to position your blog where the money is.
As availability of information on Twitter and Facebook goes up, searches should go down. Already, more people are asking their Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or others they know online what to buy and where to buy it. THAT is the future of business.
Business success is like surfing. You need to predict where the next wave will be in order to ride it. Make sure your clients are where the waves are – and not sitting alone in the sand of their lonely blog where no waves ever arrive.
Every business needs to have an online presence.
What you most need to know is in the GrowMap
Small Business Internet Marketing Starter Package.
Use it yourself ~ Be sure to share it with your favorite small business.
Local is the future of search & location is key. But if your content is not kept up to date it can be a turnoff for potential customers, in some cases worse than not having a blog at all.
You really opened my eyes. Til now my blogging situation is just like a default one. Whenever i wrote blog post, global picture was come in front of my eyes. But now i will decide my Geo-Location and try to reach to my potential readers. Thank you so much for giving such useful post.
Twitter: kayus321
says:
This is an eye opener for me.getting targeted traffic through geo-targeting blog can be really cool.But my concern is that is it possible for every niche to be geo-targeted?
And what about the competition? wouldn’t this affect you blog or site if you target are particular location?
kayus would love you to read ..Basic Carp Fishing Pointers
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Kayus,
I can’t think of anything that could not be geo-targeted or benefit from having a concentrated following. What people don’t seem to understand is that doing this REDUCES competition while not taking anything away from your national and international audiences.
growmap would love you to read ..Twitter for Business: How to Geo Target Twitter for Small Business Local Social Media #smallbusiness
Twitter: healthylivinorg
says:
Makes perfect sense to me!
I have seen a huge increase in request for my essay and web development services since I started handing out business cards in my area. I find it to be a great way to publicize goods and/or services and pretty much more affordable than other advertising media. It is also a bit more personable as I meet with prospective clients and they are able to see who they will be dealing with. Going local should definitely not be ignored.
Thanks for sharing this great post.
Twitter: addisonskanks
says:
Even if your business is an online store that can ship your product to any part of the country or the world, it makes sense to target your locality. For one, people in your area would be more receptive of your offerings because that means they can have the items they ordered almost immediately. This makes even more sense if your business is located in a big city where there is no shortage of buyers.
Noel Addison would love you to read ..Selling Ice Cubes to Eskimos
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Noel,
Yes – and people where you live are more likely to buy just because they have something in common with you! Even for ecommerce sites that operate totally online, targeting locally IS effective.
growmap would love you to read ..Quantity Equals Failure. Success Focuses on Quality!
Twitter: allaboutmexican
says:
as they say..location is key and having that niche can be lucrative.
mexican drinks would love you to read ..A Simple Quesadilla Recipe
Twitter: stutterwear
says:
Niche is such a useful and powerful tool and being geographically accessible can really do wonders
buffalo tees would love you to read ..Buffalo Cool Place T-Shirt
Twitter: matthewacoleman
says:
I am wondering if this is like GeoTagging…any thoughts?
If it is possible to go local then that can be a great market.
Although it can be a bit time consuming to keep it up. But if you are personally interested in local things/events etc. already then it will be quite easy.
It is funny or actually a bit sad when you see a blog that is advertising a certain product but their target audience is the exact opposite of the potential buyer.
You see this a lot when the blogger is advertising his or her own service, because then it probably is his or her interest and passion as well.
But if they write about it, they are actually writing for people who have the same passion and maybe even have their own service.
Danny would love you to read ..Remington RM1015P 10-Inch 8 Amp Electric Pole chain Saw
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Danny,
The great thing about going local is that you can use your Twitter account. Just use a tool like Twitterfeed or dlvr.it to feed the best local content into your geo-targeted Twitter account and let other bloggers who love writing and sharing that type of content be your source. You could also find a local blogger who wants a platform to share their thoughts.
I have had local businesses ask me to let them advertise on GrowMap, but I don’t take their money if the benefits are not there for them. I explain why they need to reach a local audience that I do not provide for them – and where to find or create it.
growmap would love you to read ..Twitter for Business: How to Geo Target Twitter for Small Business Local Social Media #smallbusiness
Twitter: MarketingZeus
says:
Thanks for turning me onto the Washington DC Influencers project, I’m excited to see an agency that has an outspoken awareness of the importance of targeting your local niche audience. Filling a void in your area is a natural approach to growth, because if your neighbors become aware of your skills, it’s only a matter of time before word-of-mouth reaches their neighbors and so on. Not to mention the benefits of supporting your own community by paying businesses who have employees who will then spend their earnings on other local businesses in that community.
We recently posted an article on the importance of defining your customer before launching communications on Marketing Zeus. I’d invite anyone interested to take a look. Thank you, GrowMap, for the thoughtful post.
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Ashley and welcome to GrowMap,
Thank you for that link – I’ll go check it out. Rohan is the first of what I hope will be 1000s of blog collaborations for specific locations and/or niches. Small business IS the solution to our economic challenges and what they need is a way to reach their potential customers. That is where blog collaborations come in!
As I keep telling people there needs to be a major reason for someone to recommend you directly – and that reason is LOCAL BENEFITS!
More and more people are beginning to understand the importance of shopping locally instead of in multi-national chain stores. I do my best to raise awareness across social media and in posts such as one about Kaufman, Texas – a thriving small town because Wal-Mart hasn’t made it there yet – and What Caused the Great Depression Is Happening Again Now and my Word of Mouth Marketing post that has stats on why small businesses keep money in circulation locally better.
growmap would love you to read ..Social Media Sharing – How to Make It Fast and Easy
Targeting the location of your business has been huge for us. People often use search engines to search for our services in combination for location keywords. The biggest tip I can give businesses is to make sure to target their locations on their pages by mentioning the areas they are in.
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Betsy,
That is excellent advice and far too many people don’t have their location on their business blog – even when it is a local only brick and mortar store! You definitely need your address, phone number (WITH AREA CODE – and I like to see the local AND a toll free number), and your country and zip code all on there.
Apparently many people fail to recognize even today that everyone does NOT know where you are or that there are many cities of the same name in multiple states!
growmap would love you to read ..Case Study: How to Deal with a Negative Review on Google Places
The main reason people don’t focus on geographic location is probably because it limits one’s possibilities. It’s obvious that in your town there are less people than if you would target the whole country. If you’re a dentist, like Antonia above says, i can understand doing it. Else, the world is your playground.
Martin would love you to read ..Q: Can CDL Violation Tickets in California cost me my License?
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Martin,
I respectfully disagree. Here is why. Pick anything from Social Media to Web Design to whatever business someone is in. It is vastly more difficult to become a big fish in that huge ocean, make a name for yourself, or land on the first page of Google competing against the entire world.
Decide to become “the” Web Designer for Architects or Home Improvement blogs or you name it – and you CAN become “the” Web Designer. Given that many people still want to personally SEE physically the people they work with, you can also become “the” Web Designer in Chicago or Dallas or wherever – and I still believe you’re better off being “the” Web Designer for Architects in Chicago.
The mistake most make is trying to make the whole world their targeted audience instead of specializing and in that way becoming special.
Rohan is well on the way to proving my point with his new Washington DC Influencers project.
The two best paths to blog income are advertising and blog outreach and a local aspect to your blog is the key to maximizing both.
growmap would love you to read ..Bloggers And Small Businesses Can Conquer Cyberspace With Collaboration
It’s obvious that if you’re a dentist in LA you’ll want your ads available for LA, not forAtlanta.
And i’m giving this dentist example because i recently read a similar story with Adwords and this gym owner that wasted over $2000 with google in a single month because he didn’t use proper geolocation.
Antonia would love you to read ..The Worst Mistakes You Can Make While Building a Connection
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Antonia,
That AdWords mistake is far more common than most people would guess – and when they first came out with the ability to target specific locations their system actually had a problem and was showing the ads all over the place instead! Big problem way back when.
Bloggers need to become the way that small businesses reach their clients. Business owners have a lot on their plate already so letting those who love blogging handle that part of marketing is better for both bloggers AND businesses.
growmap would love you to read ..Social Media Sharing – How to Make It Fast and Easy
Twitter: sociallyahead
says:
Great post.. look forward to speaking with you!
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Lynn,
The fast way to connect with me is to look me up on Skype. I’m the only GrowMap there. Or use the info on my contact tab for other ways to reach out to me.
growmap would love you to read ..Using LinkedIn for Contact Management
Niche is very important factor whenever used whether in directories of any other forum.
This is definitely an interesting idea. I am from a smaller town (maybe 50k population) would you still think that this would be a worthwhile project?
Thanks.
Eric would love you to read ..Bed and Breakfast Vinyl
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Eric,
Absolutely! The small town I chose to focus on first only has a population of around 8,000. You can get far more reach and benefit far more businesses in the average city of 50K.
Have you seen my Small Business Internet Marketing Starter Package? I’d love to have your input on it.
growmap would love you to read ..Small Business Internet Marketing Starter Package
Twitter: dragonflyreview
says:
Hi! Growmap,
Thanks for visiting! For some reason my site is not showing the keywordluv text . I wonder if its a compatibility issue. I’m working on it right now. And you are on point with stating that we bloggers should cover businesses that are in our area.
Everybody wins!
Kelly would love you to read ..Jamaican Mango & Lime Locking Creme Wax- REVIEW
Twitter: GrowMap
says:
Hi Kelly,
I see your KeywordLuv worked on my older comment. I just left another one to test it again that I suspect is in moderation (I hope), but CommentLuv didn’t want to work for me. It never managed to pull any posts I could select.
A future version of CommentLuv is supposed to incorporation the Twitter ID field, KeywordLuv, Dofollow and much more but I haven’t heard from Andy when that might be available.
growmap would love you to read ..CommentLuv 29 Coming Soon to a Galaxy Near You
Twitter: dragonflyreview
says:
Gail,
Thanks for checking on keywordluv and for letting me know about the commentluv plug-in not functioning. I did install commentluv 2.9, two days ago, so I’m kind of surprised that its not working for you.
Any ideas?
Again, thanks for checking!
Kelly would love you to read ..Bagless Stick Shark Cyclonic Action Vacuum- Product Review
I completely agree with your point. The topics of blogging must be unique as well as acceptable to the readers. Readers are more interested to those blogs that reflect the writer’s personal experiences and how they feel about the things going around them. One have to always think from the reader’s point of view to make their blogs more acceptable. Thanks for the suggestion.
Anthony would love you to read ..Making a DIY Chicken Coop – How Big